WORCESTER — An elderly man was seriously injured Thursday in a mishap with his car in the CVS parking lot on Grafton Street.

Police said the man, an 84-year-old Worcester resident, was parking in the lot at 500 Grafton St., when he decided he wanted to move into a better spot. He put the car in reverse — the door still open and his foot hanging out — and started backing up the vehicle. The open door struck the concrete base of a light fixture and startled the man, who then slammed on the accelerator. His foot somehow became lodged and the car, moving in reverse, resulted in the loss of his foot, police said.

Corey Hughes said he was walking out of Wholly Cannoli about 4:30 p.m. when he spotted the man in a Buick Century who appeared to have suffered a serious leg injury.

He said the man's left leg was hanging out of the car and appeared to have been partially amputated. Mr. Hughes said another man rushed to the man's aid and used his belt to try to stop the bleeding. Mr. Hughes said he gave the helper boot laces and a towel to help.

The man appeared pale and only mentioned that his wife had just passed away, Mr. Hughes said. He was put in an ambulance and taken to a local hospital.

The police accident reconstruction unit was investigating. Officers cordoned off a section of the parking lot, and collected a shoe found about 50 feet away, near the CVS sign. Blood trailed the car.

The car was towed, and after about an hour, most of the parking lot was reopened.

Scott J. Croteau of the Telegram & Gazette staff contributed to this report.